


if I fall I leave behind me a name that endures

by tigriswolf



Series: Alternate Universe [174]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, POV Outsider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-03
Updated: 2014-02-03
Packaged: 2018-01-11 00:14:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1166298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tigriswolf/pseuds/tigriswolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>That demon didn’t know what it did</i>, the historian of the hunters says, fingers clutched around a sweating mug, spilling beer as he drinks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	if I fall I leave behind me a name that endures

**Author's Note:**

> Title: if I fall I leave behind me a name that endures  
> Fandom: “Supernatural”  
> Disclaimer: the Winchesters aren’t mine. Title from Gilgamesh.  
> Warnings: AU  
> Pairings: John/Mary  
> Rating: PGish  
> Wordcount: 600  
> Point of view: third

They could be so very dangerous. Everyone sees it: the feral edge, the darkness in their eyes, the ease with which they lie to everyone, and even themselves.

Oh, they could be so very dangerous. The four of them slink in the darkness, brandishing silver and iron and lead, leaving corpses and blood in their wake—

 _But they only ever kill evil_ , their defenders say, taking up the chorus whenever some talk of going to the authorities. _Their methods are dangerous_ , their few friends admit. _But don’t they get the job done?_

And the whiners are sated, for awhile. But there is always something new, some way they fight that a few are bothered by, and the talk starts again. 

_You won’t see them ’til they strike, if then_ , the legends say. Get in their way and they’ll kill you. They won’t feel guilt. They only feel rage and hatred, and an insatiable need for vengeance. 

_They could be so very dangerous_ , even their friends whisper. _If they ever turn on us. If they ever decide that hunting the dark isn’t enough. But what can we do?_

None have the skill to take them out, so they can only wait, the naysayers and the frightened friends; they can only wait for the fire burning within them to destroy them from the inside out. 

_Even the reapers fear them_ , their allies say. _Death will never take them_. 

And they are so very dangerous, eyes turned to their prey, knives sharp and guns cocked, mother and father and sons. Scarred by fire, angered by threats, never the same after that smoke-filled November night.

 _That demon didn’t know what it did_ , the historian of the hunters says, fingers clutched around a sweating mug, spilling beer as he drinks. _It didn’t have a fuckin’ clue. That woman, Mary Winchester—shit, she’s scary. Only kid of Samuel Campbell, you know. Heard of him?_ He shudders, gesturing for a refill. _It should’a left her alone. And the husband, John! Damn, he was a marine, with files so locked you gotta be the president to even look at ‘em, and the fuckin’ demon went after them? They’d just been married about five years before, with two kids. And the demon! Such a stupid fuck. It attacked them in their home. How dumb can you be?_ He appeals to his audience, _Honestly, how dumb can you be? Pretty fuckin’ dumb._

They have no homebase, nowhere anyone can name. They slip in and out of towns like the ghosts they hunt, silent and deadly, mother and father and sons. 

_And the kids!_ the historian says, giggling, almost too drunk to see. _Holy shit, those boys of theirs! Fuck, if I had to choose between them and Satan himself, I’d go with old Lucifer. Shit. If their parents are scary, those kids could frighten Hell_. He looks around with furtive eyes, nearly falling off the stool. _Those boys, Dean and Sam—named for Mary’s parents. Apt names. They_ — He shudders again. _Can we talk about somethin’ else?_ he asks, and the conversation turns. 

They are dangerous. They only go after evil, but anything that gets in their way is fair game, and they care only for each other. To insult one is to insult all, and they are indiscriminate when infuriated. 

_Stay the fuck away from the Winchesters_ replaces _If it’s supernatural, we kill it_ as the hunter creed and they all wait for word. 

And the steel-eyed woman with her men of iron stalk the night, not caring who gets in their way, uncaring who is hurt or killed.


End file.
